1-1                                     1
 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 689
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is proud to
 1-4     celebrate April 11, 1999, through April 17, 1999, as National
 1-5     Library Week; during this time, Texas will honor its own libraries,
 1-6     as well as those throughout the nation; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, As libraries are vital to Texans' intellectual
 1-8     enrichment and are an indispensable part of the state's and the
 1-9     nation's educational system, it is only fitting that we express
1-10     gratitude for this most fortunate resource; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Texas public libraries serve their communities
1-12     in countless ways; they prepare preschool children to begin
1-13     elementary education; in helping to ensure adult literacy,
1-14     libraries safeguard a lifetime of opportunities for all Texans;
1-15     and our college and university libraries are key to the
1-16     outstanding quality of research and teaching produced by our
1-17     Texas institutions of higher education; and
1-18           WHEREAS, Texans visit the library over 100 million times each
1-19     year to borrow more than 70 million items; one million students and
1-20     faculty visit and perform research at our university libraries; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Texas libraries perform vital public services; they
1-22     provide literacy programs which help nearly 90,000 Texans per year
1-23     learn to read or to improve their reading skills; they offer a
1-24     broad range of free programs, which include popular book clubs,
 2-1     senior-citizen exercise classes, concerts, author talks, children's
 2-2     programs, investment lectures, cooking classes, and more; and
 2-3           WHEREAS, As the internet information superhighway becomes
 2-4     evermore essential in our society, public libraries ensure that
 2-5     all citizens have access to this resource; three-quarters of the
 2-6     nation's libraries now offer public on-line access; and
 2-7           WHEREAS, The indispensable services the nation's libraries
 2-8     perform are supervised by millions of exceptional librarians; these
 2-9     professionals help thousands of patrons sift through prodigious
2-10     amounts of available information, to find the best resource; and
2-11           WHEREAS, The theme for this year's National Library Week is
2-12     "Read! Learn! Connect! @ the Library"; this is the time to celebrate
2-13     the gift of our communities' and schools' libraries; these are the
2-14     institutions that give the citizens of Texas and the United States
2-15     the ability to read, learn, and connect to ideas and information;
2-16     now, therefore, be it
2-17           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
2-18     76th Legislature, hereby commend the week-long celebration of
2-19     National Library Week from April 11 through April 17; and, be it
2-20     further
2-21           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared to honor
2-22     this worthy event.
2-23                                                               Zaffirini
2-24                                  ______________________________________
2-25                                          President of the Senate
2-26                                       I hereby certify that the above
2-27                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate
2-28                                  on April 20, 1999.
2-29                                  ______________________________________
 3-1                                          Secretary of the Senate
 3-2                                  ______________________________________
 3-3                                           Member, Texas Senate